Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Sideline Sid's life has been intertwined with rugby ever since first pulling on boots as a five or six year old all those decades ago.

What made him think about a taken for granted passion for the game was an admission on television recently by a well known face, that while he knew little about rugby, he was determined to upskill his knowledge before the Rugby World Cup hits out shores.

As a school kid in the ‘50s and early ‘60s, rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer were the only real options at most schools. Those were the days when Military Cadets were compulsory at most schools. In the PC world that we live in today, it is hard to imagine 13-14 year olds receiving instruction at the shooting range.

One of the real highlights that the whole country looked forward to in those far away days was the tours by the international rugby countries.

Over the years my life has been interspersed by the visits of such as the Springbok and Lions tours. A Springbok or Lions tour had the country in a frenzy with four tests against the mighty All Blacks taking place during the three month tours.

My first real experience was the Springboks that came to call in 1956. We lived just down the road from Athletic Park in Wellington, and attended Newtown Primary School. There was never any doubt that I would line up to go with dad to the three scheduled matches at the park.

While Wellington and the second test were lost, the best was saved to last in the match with a New Zealand University selection. The run of Ron Jarden, who beat all the South African players to dot down under the posts, only to be denied a try by the touch judge who deemed that the winger had put his foot into touch – has become a legendary story of the battles between New Zealand and South Africa.

For the record, New Zealand won the series (for the first time) 3-1, and the academics defeated the Springboks 22-15 – oh what joy abounded in the country with the enemy defeated for the first time.

The next big tour to engage New Zealand in vigorous debate was the 1959 Lions. While I was on hand to see Wellington defeated 21-6, the crush of spectators at the second test saw us depart the ground before the All Blacks posted a narrow 11-8 victory.

As a teenager in the Waikato, I was privileged to be on hand to witness what was one of the biggest upsets in New Zealand rugby history. Five thousand people packed into the domain at Te Aroha in 1962 to watch what was supposed to be a one-sided contest between the visiting Wallabies and Thames Valley. In one of the biggest ever upsets in the country, Thames Valley belied its minnow status to get up and win 16-14.

Just nine years after its first pre-war visit, the Springboks were back in 1965. While I caught just one game, it turned out to be a real thriller. The New Zealand Maori game at Athletic Park drew 40,000 to the park. In a dramatic finish, big Hawke's Bay lock Karan Crawford crashed over in the dying seconds of the match for a try. However, an enthusiastic crowd swept onto the field to celebrate – with the referee calling full time after being unable to remove the spectators. For the record South Africa won the game 9-3.

With time running out, and the Steamers game in Katikati on Friday fast approaching, I will put the pencil away and resume Sideline Sid's rugby journey at a later date.

Seeya at the (Steamers) Game